State of Design: Ilse Crawford

Ilse Crawford creates modern and emotional brands, products, interiors, buildings and furniture. Since founding Elle Decoration and rejuvenating the Donna Karan Home brand, she has started her company Studioilse and is also head of department at the celebrated Design Academy Eindhoven. For the 2011 State of Design festival, she wa joined for a Q&A session by Melbourne locals Clare Cousins, Dhiren Bhagwandas, Cindy-Lee Davies and Lucy Feagins.

In this video of the event, Crawford talks about the challenges of designing for clients and the importance of user-focused solutions over pure aesthetics. She also shares her secrets for success – a healthy dose of perseverance, she believes, trumps pure talent – her tips for communicating complex design ideas to clients, the importance of physical model-making in her practise, and why designers should show an awareness of the world around them.

The 9 to 5 Talks Program was a series of live, Skype conversations in a Q&A format. Melbourne’s leading designers posed nine critical questions to five of the world’s most important design thinkers. The series was presented in partnership with the State of Design Festival.